The Mercury Music Prize has announced plans to pay tribute to David Bowie during this year’s ceremony.
Bowie’s last musical offering, ‘Blackstar’, is one of 12 albums that have been nominated for the 2016 Mercury Prize, which honours the past year in British music.
The ceremony, to be held at the Eventim Apollo in Hammersmith on Thursday (15 September), will feature performances from several nominees, including The 1975, Bat For Lashes and Laura Mvula, and it’s now been revealed how the late music icon will be remembered during the evening.
Michael C Hall, who will take on the lead role in the Bowie musical ‘Lazarus’ later this year, has been confirmed to be performing the titular song during the ceremony, backed by the production’s house band, led by Henry Hey.
A panel of experts from the world of music will decide which of the 12 nominated albums should be named the ultimate winner on the night, with tickets to be in the audience now on sale on the Mercury Music Prize website.
Since Bowie’s death in January, several awards shows have paid tribute to him, with varying levels of success.
Lady Gaga paid homage to her idol at the Grammys, whizzing through a collection of his signature hits while sporting an ensemble inspired by his Ziggy Stardust era, a performance which received mixed reviews, including an apparent thumbs down from Bowie’s son.
Meanwhile, Lorde put on a significantly more understated show when she honoured Bowie at the Brit Awards weeks later, giving a sombre rendition of his song, ‘Life On Mars?’
The Mercury Music Prize will be available to watch from 8pm on Thursday, on the BBC Red Button service and iPlayer.
